I would rather release anyone else other than Gwen first.

[ChompyRiley]

Why is this not an option without mods? I get the whole letting it go thing, but I want to keep Gwen until the end she's my favorite.

I mean, I don't want to release anyone. I want to sail around forever with my silly animal friends and make them food and explore the world. I would pay double to be able to do that and not have to take any of them to the spirit door.

'oh but riley you have to learn to let go', 'that's not the point of the game', 'meh meh meh.' Well ♥♥♥♥ you! I want to play the game my way!

[rmsgrey]

Because Gwen is the tutorial spirit, and you have to go through all the steps with her first?

Also, by forcing Gwen's departure, they didn't have to provide any content for Gwen beyond the initial region and interactions that can happen there before you've gained access to other parts of the map.

Of course, if you want to play without releasing Gwen, you can - you'll just be unable to see anything that happens when or after you release her.